This is a very enjoyable recording. The cast is one to die for
and - wonder of wonders! - the sound is really good for its
time. It’s neither filtered nor boomy and the sound of the orchestra
is crisply put across. The booklet is an improvement on many
historic reissues with lots of cue points and an interesting
essay specific to this performance. There are biographies regarding
the artists as well. The product overall makes the best of first
impressions and happily the recording proves to be far better
than the norm.

Like so many operas La Gioconda benefits from being recorded
live. The numerous asides and confrontations which can seem
stagey – even risible - in the studio come alive quite surprisingly
in the theatre in front of an audience.

The voices sound mellow in the 1939 theatre acoustic. At times
in the 1957 studio version starring Zinka Milanov I sensed a
lack of feeling, for instance when Gioconda tells her mother
‘I will go to see my beloved’ (‘Io vado a rintracciar l’angelo
mio’). There is a lot more youthful expression in this live
set. You can hear this in the legato of ‘… vado a rintracciar
…’ and in the wholly appropriate swell of emotion on ‘l’angelo
mio’. Milanov is in youthful voice and although she was in energised
form in the studio this live recording is even finer if not
quite so carefully detailed.

You can put much of the improvement down to pacing and a sense
of the excitement being carried on through the drama – Panizza
conducts as you imagine Toscanini must have done in his prime.
There is nothing mechanical about the direction and the orchestra
play well under him. The live sound has more depth and variety
than was evident in studio recordings from this time – for example
Gigli’s HMV sets - while background noise is not too distracting.
I should note that Belen Amparan’s La Cieca is really dramatic
on the 1957 studio recording and is not quite matched here by
Kaskas.

Another example of the live setting aiding the drama is when
Barnaba confronts Gioconda, barring her way, in Act One. Carlo
Morelli sounds properly amorous/lecherous and Gioconda’s rebuke
is more sharply etched before an audience. Her high note may
not be as pretty as elsewhere but it is certainly spectacular.

In comparison, in her stereo studio recording Milanov and Leonard
Warren at times sound rather hammy. Listen for example to Gioconda’s
squeal of fright ‘Che?’ (‘Who is it?’) and also when Warren
gives a rather forced ‘evil cackle’ looking at La Cieca. The
result is disappointing. Generally Warren proves himself a more
able actor than Sherill Milnes (Decca) or the very young Piero
Cappuccilli (EMI) in the famous studio recordings. Milanov’s
sound is very beautiful even this late in her career. However,
the live recording certainly represents an improvement in this
and many other instances. It proves to be among the most satisfying
of all recordings of ‘La Gioconda’.

I have not heard the duet between Barnaba and Enzo in Act 1,
‘Enzo Grimaldi, Principe di Sanafior, che pensi?’ sound nearly
so vibrant as this in any studio version. It helps that the
two singers are of the exalted quality of Martinelli and Morelli.
Carlo Morelli is terrific as the gleeful Barnaba asking ‘che
pensi?’ as he reveals to Enzo that he knows his true identity.
Martinelli draws out the phrase ‘Scoperto son’ - ‘I am discovered’
- so that it makes its full effect. That line is frequently
thrown away, either sung too quickly or said with a blank expression.
Here the phrase is taken at an effective volume which, as an
aside to the audience, adds to the drama. ‘Chi sei?’ – ‘Who
are you?’ – sounds properly alarmed. Morelli’s reply ‘So tutto’
-‘I know all’- is chilling. There were times when I missed the
vibrant voice of Leonard Warren on the 1957 studio recording
and live in 1956 at the Met with Milanov but Morelli is pretty
marvellous nonetheless. He could have sounded even nastier when
he was scornful about Gioconda’s blind mother but he is helped
by the propulsion lent by the cut and thrust of the conducting.
Warren is not helped that much by Previtali.

A veteran of many seasons at the Met, Martinelli sounds better
here than in his near-contemporary recordings such as Verdi’s
Otello. He sounds even and vibrant although there are
signs at times that the voice is not that of a young man. This
can be heard in the occasional gear-changes absent from early
recordings. That said, the voice is in fine fettle and is obviously
the perfect weight for this role. ‘Cielo e mar’ is phrased more
imaginatively than in most complete sets – including Pavarotti
(Decca) and Domingo (EMI). Alongside cases such as the superb
Giuseppe Di Stefano (Decca) Martinelli has a sturdier voice,
better matched to the demands of the part. Milanov, even late
in her career, showed that she had the ideal tone for her part
as well. Here she is vibrant and interesting if not quite as
charismatic and imaginative as she later became. No soprano
since Callas or Tebaldi has been so magnetic in the role. Arguably
Milanov’s success in the theatre in this role was greater than
that of either of these sopranos. Scotto and Caballé fell behind
somewhat. Caballé had a most beautiful voice but was rather
underwhelming while Scotto was sadly over-parted in her live
recordings.

The sound Milanov makes here is not so dark low down in the
register as later or compared to the competition but the effects
are dramatic and well judged. She is more adept I think at acting
the emotions of the part – including a rip-roaring ‘Suicidio’
– than Renata Tebaldi was in the late 1960s after she changed
her technique. The voice is in far finer shape than Callas was
in her studio recording of 1959 and more even than Callas’s
earlier set from 1952 which is wildly dramatic. Cerquetti was
an able singer for Decca (1957) but she did not have the instantly
recognisable timbre of contemporary protagonists. This is certainly
among the best recorded versions of this opera. The background
noise is not too intrusive and the recording is a deal better
than many live broadcasts twenty years younger.

Overall, this has proven to be an excellent recording of this
fine opera. Ettore Panizza is the most electric conductor of
La Gioconda on record. It is worth saying over and over
that his contribution is terrific.

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